Page 113 of Fall

“Because I fucking care about you,” he snaps, raising his voice as if that’s going to make a difference.

“Don’t lie. You’re here because you care about your new girlfriend, and she’s unhappy. I can assure you: she’ll be fine. It’s not like she’s locked out of her dorm just because you are.”

“You’re an asshole, you know that? You can’t keep blocking everyone out.”

I shrug my shoulders and grab my water bottle.

“Sure, I can. I’ve done it for years,” I sass and start searching the gym.

“What are you searching for?” he snaps in annoyance.

I smile. “The fucks I’m supposed to give.”

He takes an audible breath, clearly annoyed by my attitude, but like I said, I really don’t care.

“Like it or not, we’re your friends, and we care about you. What’s it gonna take for you to see that?”

“Hell to freeze over,” I say, leaning closer to him before I pick up my bag and head out of the gym. Looks like my workout is done for the day.

Unfortunately, he follows.

When we get to the middle of the courtyard, he grips my elbow and spins me around.

“She told me Bianchi was here,” he says in a whispered rush. “You know he can’t be on campus. What were you thinking?”

I snatch my arm out of his grip. “Iknow that. But I also have a debt to pay, and with school and being held prisoner at the frat house, I haven’t been able to pay it.”

“What are you going to do? I’ve got money, if that’s what you need,” he says.

“I don’t need money, Taylor. It’s not that kind of debt. I’ll handle it.”

His chocolate brown eyes bore into mine. “You don’t have to handle it alone.”

I tilt my head, crossing my arms over my chest. “Did you tell them?”

“About the debt? No. Not that I don’t want to. Secrets suck but…” He lowers his voice. “I’m not a hundred percent sure how they’ll take it or what they’ll do.”

“What about Micah? Has he told them?” I ask.

“I don’t think so.” He sighs. “You’re like a sister to me, and I don’t want to have to choose between you or them, but I can’t sit on the sidelines either. Let me help you.”

We stand there for a minute longer, both of us in our heads, trying to make sense of the last few months. Then I turn to walk to Emily Hall in silence.

“Listen, Celeste really isn’t doing okay, even though she pretends to be. She’s having nightmares again.”

I know the feeling.

Now that I think about it, I can’t imagine what she felt after seeing a piece of that video. She experienced a brief encounter, but she isn’t fluent in how dark this world can be.

I nod my head. “You win, Bryant. I’ll talk to her. We’ll work it out.”

“Thank you. I’ve got to go to a gala tonight, but can you talk to her, keep her company, until I can get back?”

The gala.

“This gala that you’re going to. What’s it for?” I ask.

Hie shrugs his shoulders. “It’s just a Knight’s dinner party, really. A bunch of powerful people deciding the fate of the world,” he says with a light smile. “Kidding. I mean, it’s a dinner party for powerful people, but you know…”

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